A dinosaur fossil found 13 years ago in southern Utah has resulted in one of the largest fossil discoveries in history and highlights the importance of sending human explorers into space, according to The Mars Society.

Scott Williams, director of science and exhibits for the Burpee Museum of Natural History in Rockford, Illinois, said formal excavations in southern Utah started in 2008 after museum staff were directed to the site by geologists with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.

The site, located about 10 miles northwest of Hanksville, has been called a “bone jackpot.” The fossil site extends for more than a quarter mile, Williams says, and is roughly the size and scope of the Dinosaur National Monument bonebed.